Adam Starkey 2–3 minutes
Barbie has become the highest-grossing movie in Warner Bros. history.
Greta Gerwig’s fantasy comedy passed the $1.342billion mark at the global box office on Monday (August 28), beating Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 to become the company’s highest-grossing film ever, not adjusted for inflation.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barbie is set to become only the 13th movie in history to cross the $600million mark at the US box office later this week. As of Sunday, the film has grossed over $592.8million in the US, and $745.5million in the rest of the world.
The film is also set to beat The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.36billion) as the highest-grossing film of 2023 globally in the coming days. When it crosses the milestone, Barbie will become the 15th highest-grossing film of all time.
In a statement to mark the record, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-CEOs, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, said: “Reaching this outstanding achievement is a reminder of the power of moviegoers – from countries in every corner of the globe – coming together to further the celebration of an iconic character that has entertained us for so many decades.”
Barbie previously surpassed Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight to become the highest-earning film in Warner Bros. history in the US. Since it was released in July, the film has also become the highest-grossing live-action movie solely directed by a woman.
Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Barbie released on the same day as Nolan’s latest film Oppenheimer, creating the “Barbenheimer” phenomena which boosted the success of both films at the box office.
In a four-star review, NME wrote: “What follows is a nuanced, rose-tinted comedy adventure, set to a stonking pop soundtrack featuring Lizzo and Billie Eilish, that somehow lives up to the immense hype. To borrow a pun from Ken’s coolest jacket (out of a long lineup), Barbie is more than ‘kenough’.”
In an online Q&A, author Ursula Le Guin was asked for her opinion on JK Rowling’s writing style. Quote: “I have no great opinion of it. When so many adult critics were carrying on about the “incredible originality” of the first Harry Potter book, I read it to find out what the fuss was about, and remained somewhat puzzled; it seemed a lively kid’s fantasy crossed with a “school novel”, good fare for its age group, but stylistically ordinary, imaginatively derivative, and ethically rather mean-spirited.” There is more to the Q&A, but frankly, this adult critic has no great opinion of it.
Well that’s one person’s opinion of it (I assume you share their opinion?). Not sure what makes it fascist or even “ethically mean spirited.”
I thought it was a great story of friendship and love overcoming difficulties in life.
I think fascists is too much. But it has a rather conservative view on the world. Harry Potter, the character, fights to maintain and later return the status quo of society and people who want to change it, like Hermione with the house elves are viciously mocked. Slavery is okay, they like to be enslaved, Dobby is just a weirdo.
In short I'd say the issue is that the Harry Potter stories propose that individuals are the problem, not the system, even if the system has very clear flaws shown to us.
And what is the system but many individuals?
It's not "many" individuals, but a very few individuals. That's the point.
If 99% of the people in a system went against the remaining 1%, I assure you the system would be different
I have read many, many fiction stories. I agree with Ursula's opinion. You could take the magic out of the series and put it on London streets and it would still be full of classism, racist tropes, narcissistic role models, and a weak story overall. If you enjoy it, fine. I could suggest a dozen stories and series that address the same issues with greater nuance and skill.
Not if they have good taste.
By all means, suggest them. I love good stories.
And it’s art. I’m not going to discount a story that made me feel deeply just because the author isn’t as skillful as another.
And is writing (or any art) about topics that are very much present in the real world to be discouraged? Should every piece of art ignore reality and just portray utopia?
If you didn’t enjoy it, fine. That’s art. It’s subjective. But to call it fascist is just…weird.
It would be weird if JKR wasn't actually a fascist and if she didn't reinforce negative stereotypes in every one of her more recent additions to the stories. Did you see the goblin bankers in Wizarding World?
As for book series including magic, there's always the classics, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, and Madeleine l'Engle. I'm a huge fan of the intersection of magic and technology so I would also suggest the authors Neal Stephenson, Greg Egan, and Liu Cixin. If you're looking for heady dialogue that includes mysticism and philosophy, try Hermann Hesse.
Here's my not-quite-up-to-date reading list sorted by rating on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/89724732?ref=nav_mybooks&sort=rating
I guess that gets into separating the art from the artist - which is its own conversation. I don’t care for JK Rowling as a person, but then again I don’t like what a lot of many great artists have done. I had to make that decision for myself whether or not I was ok with consuming art from troubled human beings and to what level (monetarily and influence-wise). Ultimately I just make that decision on a case-by-case basis.
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ll probably start by digging into Herman Hesse. I have some audible credits that need to be put to use.
You just got me extremely excited because I LOVE the Steppenwolf audiobook read by Peter Weller. His sardonic and disdainful tone pairs perfectly with the story like dark chocolate and wine. The entire audiobook is available on YouTube. Here's a link to one of my favorite passages. No real spoilers here.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89bn67OmHHs&t=2769s
…and a race of slaves who benefit from their station.